Indore: On Friday, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry distinguished Indore as the premier city and Madhya Pradesh as the foremost state under the Smart Cities Mission as they unveiled the winners for the India Smart Cities Awards 2022.
Following Indore, Surat and Agra secured the second and third positions among cities. Tamil Nadu was runner-up in the state rankings, while Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh jointly claimed the third spot. The award ceremony, set to take place on September 27 in Indore, will be graced by President Droupadi Murmu, who will present awards to 66 winners spanning various categories.
The cities earned their respective positions based on several criteria, which included the advancement of projects, the tangible results of these projects, and the presentations they submitted for consideration. The Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, took to Twitter to laud Madhya Pradesh’s achievements. He mentioned, “A remarkable accomplishment for Madhya Pradesh, bagging the ‘Best State Award’ at #ISACAwards2022! With 779 multi-sectoral projects underway across seven cities, amounting to ₹15,696 cr, the state is significantly enhancing the Ease of Living for its residents.”
Further amplifying its stellar reputation, Indore has consistently been a torchbearer for cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat Mission. It has been crowned the cleanest city for an impressive six consecutive years. Madhya Pradesh also claimed the title of the cleanest state in the 2022 Swachh Survekshan rankings. In a previous edition of the Smart Cities awards, Indore and Surat shared the top honours.